--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had an epiphany once that I wish I…" description: "\"“I had an epiphany once that I wish I could stimulate in everyone else. The plausibility of our human world, the fact that the buildings don't all fall..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/jaron-lanier-2241_epiphany_i-had-an-epiphany-once-that-i-wish-i-cou_2081182.png" --- # I had an epiphany once that I wish I could stimulate in… ![“I had an epiphany once that I wish I could stimulate in everyone else. The plausibility of our human world, the fact that the buildings don't all fall down and you can eat unpoisoned food that someone grew, is immediately palpable evidence of an ocean of goodwill and good behavior from almost…” quote by Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/jaron-lanier-2241_epiphany_i-had-an-epiphany-once-that-i-wish-i-cou_2081182.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/jaron-lanier-2241_epiphany_i-had-an-epiphany-once-that-i-wish-i-cou_2081182.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c74/jaron-lanier-2241_epiphany_i-had-an-epiphany-once-that-i-wish-i-cou_2081182.png) > ““I had an epiphany once that I wish I could stimulate in everyone else. The plausibility of our human world, the fact that the buildings don't all fall down and you can eat unpoisoned food that someone grew, is immediately palpable evidence of an ocean of goodwill and good behavior from almost everyone, living or dead. We are bathed in what we can call love. And yet that love shows itself best through the constraints of civilization, because those constraints compensate for the flaws of human nature. We must see ourselves honestly, and engage ourselves realistically, in order to become better.”” [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human civilization’s rules mask our flaws, allowing love and goodwill to flourish despite imperfections. **In simple terms:** Societal rules help love thrive despite human flaws. Key Takeaway Embrace constraints while striving for better humanity. Themes philosophy human nature society Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - community building - personal growth - education - mental health Key Concepts civilization goodwill self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance rules with freedom? - What personal actions nurture love? A Different Perspective Constraints can also suppress individuality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Epiphany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epiphany/) [Epiphany Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epiphany-wish-4065554/) [Good behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-behavior/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Human World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-world/) [Laws Of Human Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-of-human-nature-216655/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Bizarrely, almost every statist admits that politicians are more dishonest, corrupt, conniving and selfish than most people, but still insists that civilization can exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larken-rose/bizarrely-almost-every-statist-admits-that-politicians-are-more/) [Larken Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larken-rose/) > [“Or why should one refrain from burning hatred, whatever its basis--race, class, or ideology? Such hatred is in fact corroding many hearts today. Atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-i-solzhenitsyn/or-why-should-one-refrain-from-burning-hatred-whatever-its-basis-race/) [Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-i-solzhenitsyn/) > [ To regard such a positive mental science \[psychology\] as rising above the sphere of history, and establishing the permanent and unchanging laws of human… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-g-collingwood/to-regard-such-a-positive-mental-science-psychology-as-rising-above/) [Robin G. Collingwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-g-collingwood/) > [The fundamental laws of human nature are overlooked by social planners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-fundamental-laws-of-human-nature-are-overlooked-by-social-planners/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [In science, law is not a rule imposed from without, but an expression of an intrinsic process. The laws of the lawgiver are impotent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-allbutt/in-science-law-is-not-a-rule-imposed-from-without-but-an-expression/) [Clifford Allbutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-allbutt/) > [It's one of the most basic laws of human nature, isn't it? The more we are denied something, the more we want it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-mccorkle/it-s-one-of-the-most-basic-laws-of-human-nature-isn-t-it-the-more-we/) [Jill McCorkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-mccorkle/) > [It is disastrous to own more of anything than you can possess, and it is one of the most fundamental laws of human nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/it-is-disastrous-to-own-more-of-anything-than-you-can-possess-and-it/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Trouble makes us one with every human being in the world - and unless we touch others, we're out of touch with life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trouble-makes-us-one-with-every-human-being-in-the-world-and-unless/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Did I live? The human world is like a vast musical instrument on which we play our individual part while simultaneously listening to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/did-i-live-the-human-world-is-like-a-vast-musical-instrument-on-which/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [“Wake up you must, and step up you must, not should, but must, for only then, can an animal world be changed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/wake-up-you-must-and-step-up-you-must-not-should-but-must-for-only/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I don't wish to inhabit the human world under false pretences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-wish-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretences/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I don't want to inhabit the human world under false pretenses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-want-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretenses/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-human-world-is-made-of-stories-not-people-the-people-the-stories/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The world, the human world, is bound together not by protons and electrons, but by stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/the-world-the-human-world-is-bound-together-not-by-protons-and/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) ## More by Jaron Lanier > [If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-we-allow-our-self-congratulatory-adoration-of-technology-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Individual web pages as they first appeared in the early 1990s had the flavour of person-hood. MySpace preserved some of that flavour, though a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/individual-web-pages-as-they-first-appeared-in-the-early-1990s-had/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Style used to be an interaction between the human soul and tools that were limiting. In the digital era, it will have to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/style-used-to-be-an-interaction-between-the-human-soul-and-tools-that/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We should talk about the ultimate cause of war. 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You can believe there's something ineffable going on within the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/there-are-at-least-two-ways-to-believe-in-the-idea-of-quality-you-can/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [An intelligent person feels guilty for downloading music without paying the musician, but they use this free-open-culture ideology to cover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/an-intelligent-person-feels-guilty-for-downloading-music-without/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“What these critics forget is that printing presses in themselves provide no guarantee of an enlightened outcome. People, not machines, made the Renaissance. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/what-these-critics-forget-is-that-printing-presses-in-themselves/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [There were studies that asked people in different cultures to draw pictures of their enemies, and the pictures all looked remarkably the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/there-were-studies-that-asked-people-in-different-cultures-to-draw/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“Zombies are familiar characters in philosophical thought experiments. They are like people in every way except they have no internal experience… If there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/zombies-are-familiar-characters-in-philosophical-thought-experiments/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We're losing track of the vastness of the potential for computer science. We really have to revive the beautiful intellectual joy of it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/we-re-losing-track-of-the-vastness-of-the-potential-for-computer/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Of all the things you can spend a lot of money on, the only things you expect to fail frequently are software and medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/of-all-the-things-you-can-spend-a-lot-of-money-on-the-only-things-you/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [ At the turn of the \[21st\] century it was really Sergey Brin at Google who just had the thought of, well, if we give… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/at-the-turn-of-the-21st-century-it-was-really-sergey-brin-at-google/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [The mass culture of childhood right now is astonishingly technical. Little kids know their Unix path punctuation so they can get around the Web,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/the-mass-culture-of-childhood-right-now-is-astonishingly-technical/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Wal-Mart impoverished its own customer base. Google is facing exactly the same issue long-term, although not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/wal-mart-impoverished-its-own-customer-base-google-is-facing-exactly/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) [Explore all 173 Jaron Lanier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## More Epiphany quotes > [I recently had an epiphany and now I'm making the most of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-recently-had-an-epiphany-and-now-i-m-making-the-most-of-my-days/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was 12 when I was on stage for the first time and had an epiphany that this is what I wanted to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mithila-palkar/i-was-12-when-i-was-on-stage-for-the-first-time-and-had-an-epiphany/) [Mithila Palkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mithila-palkar/) > [ \[On Cantor's work:\] The finest product of mathematical genius and one of the supreme achievements of purely intellectual human activity. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/on-cantor-s-work-the-finest-product-of-mathematical-genius-and-one-of/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [So if there was a way that I knew something about my character's desires or the things that they were resisting because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-antopol/so-if-there-was-a-way-that-i-knew-something-about-my-character-s/) [Molly Antopol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-antopol/) > [“I had an epiphany a few years ago when I was out at a celebrity party and it suddenly dawned on me that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/i-had-an-epiphany-a-few-years-ago-when-i-was-out-at-a-celebrity-party/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Do not, under any circumstances, belittle a work of fiction by trying to turn it into a carbon copy of real life; what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/do-not-under-any-circumstances-belittle-a-work-of-fiction-by-trying/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“Without the quest, there can be no epiphany.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constantine-e-scaros/without-the-quest-there-can-be-no-epiphany/) [Constantine E. Scaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constantine-e-scaros/) > [Very often in mathematics the crucial problem is to recognize and discover what are the relevant concepts; once this is accomplished the job may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-nathan-herstein/very-often-in-mathematics-the-crucial-problem-is-to-recognize-and/) [Israel Nathan Herstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-nathan-herstein/) > [I can't relate to the idea of suicide. I guess I'm just one of those people that is always optimistic and upbeat. But one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/i-can-t-relate-to-the-idea-of-suicide-i-guess-i-m-just-one-of-those/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [“To be human is nothing less than to be caught in the great congested pilgrimage of existence and to join ourselves freely to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/to-be-human-is-nothing-less-than-to-be-caught-in-the-great-congested/) [Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/) > [The rarity is the sudden epiphany or single turning point showing you with dramatic clarity that your marriage is over, although that does happen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wasser/the-rarity-is-the-sudden-epiphany-or-single-turning-point-showing-you/) [Laura Wasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wasser/) > [the feminine journey is a story unfolding, and its epiphanies come through real things, through tangibles like walking sticks and dreams and deer antlers--all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-feminine-journey-is-a-story-unfolding-and-its-epiphanies-come/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“The scene sucker-punched Max. He never saw it coming. It encapsulated in one poignant instant the tragic beauty of his family history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/the-scene-sucker-punched-max-he-never-saw-it-coming-it-encapsulated/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [Humility is not self deprecating, rather it is the quiet internal confidence allowing you to accept things as they are, especially yourself; that epiphany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casar-jacobson/humility-is-not-self-deprecating-rather-it-is-the-quiet-internal/) [Casar Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casar-jacobson/) > [“It’s a little-known secret, and it should probably stay that way: attempting suicide usually jump-starts your brain chemistry. There must be something about taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-cheney/it-s-a-little-known-secret-and-it-should-probably-stay-that-way/) [Terri Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-cheney/) [Browse all 299 Epiphany quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epiphany/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I had an epiphany once that I wish I could stimulate in everyone else. The plausibility of our human world, the fact that the buildings don't all fall down and you can eat unpoisoned food that someone grew, is immediately palpable evidence of an ocean of goodwill and good behavior from almost everyone, living or dead. We are bathed in what we can call love. And yet that love shows itself best through the constraints of civilization, because those constraints compensate for the flaws of human nature. 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